Animal trap



P. G. MIDGETT Nov. 25, 1930.

ANIMAL TRAP Filed Aug- 17, 192B 3 Sheets-$11691, l

| .IIIII- nHHHHII mvENToR vl ATTORN EV ANIMAL TRAP Fld Aug. 17, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ZDG /Vla c1577' Nov. 25, l930. P. G. MHDGETTv 1,782,661

ANIMAL TRAP Filed Aug. 17, 192B 5 SheStSh-Shet 5 INVENTOR PQ /Vz a 4'521 BY W waiter onoeenteringw f .y Patented N0v.25',"193of y. Y' @1,782.661

UNITED STAT-Es :ol-#FICE f i NELToN G. MIDGETT, ofrfnAnresfmnxns f H ,ANIMAL 'naar l I-ii'ppliea'iaiinea August 17,151922'3; serial No. Boones.

Thiswinvention yrelates/to new anduseful `through which the :animal` mayenter.` In` Limprovementsflintanimalwtraps. eaeli gatewayprovide aigate or barrier co1`n` Oneobjeoti'o the `invention is to vprovide posed of individualipivotedingersilf eaoh a trapV which AWi'llfbe "highly efficient in the having afpointedvend and'feXtendingfrom' a" 2,5 catching of rats, mice or othersmallanimals, cylindrical head 15,`as is shoyvnfin` `detailjin `55 l asdiwellias larger:animals:` iidesired. 5.l The heads are assembledonfshafts uAnother. objectiof the invention Ais to pro- 116iastenedinthelegs lrandl" by nutst16".

. vide atrapi-ntouwhioh theanimal will readi- "The heads 15 aotto `spaeethe` fingers apart `:ly enter' and'fronrwhioh hezoannotjescape andprovideireepiyotal inountings `for the :Variousnovel 'featuresfandaiinportant .inioline inwardly VWh'en'aestingr on'lthelsupport y -iznrovements maklrigfor simplicity,jeomfen-V A Withfwhiohthe trap is provided.

ienoe and eiiiienoyWilhbehereinafter more In orderto support the polntsoffthe Y `fingersabovethe'fioorof'the.trapor support'.

` ipa'rtioula'rly pointedout.

\ .51115 i lTheinvention Will be more readilyunderonwhioh it" restsor to varythe adjustment 65 1 `stoodfromavreading.of` thei'ollovfing speoiof thefingera `a oankshaft 1'('isfproyided` ication` and bywreferencerto theacconapany` at eaohgateway. Theorankshaftfis'mounted ing drawings, inwhichfan exampleoftheinin thelegs13fandf13^"and is equipped' with -yention isshown, andiwherein: u nnts17,fwhiohwhen tightenedwillholdthe i120, 'Fig. ,1 isaneleyation oa trap constructed crankshaft' in position." By iadjusting this mi y `inaccordance;'with'the^nyention, l. crankshaft, thefingersvrhicli rest'thereon are i Fig.` Qwis `a plan View of the same,r portions suportedinthe desired `position; For trap-` y being shown inseo'tion andthe eageubeing' biirgfisonne)kindsL of animalsit" is desirable .omitted i y ytohaveHa'loorin theftrapgbut"forother m25 y i `Fig'is a transverse vertical seetionalview animals `isfbest `notto have such a ffloor i y `takenonthe line13-3.of=Fig.,2, y f Ilit-Will beseen that once the'ianimal: passes `liigQc isatransverseyertical-seotional view between the legs andvthelngers fallbe- `taken on thel-i-nel-f4of liggir,A y `hind it, saidianimal o'annotescapef By'pro- L; is a detail fone'of thegateaingers, \`vicli,ng`the kopen gateways onf thefour sides Fig. 7 is a transverse Vertical.` sectional same from opposite sideslandisfthus induced, f viewtalrenoncthe line 7-..-7 oFigand `to' enter.' g` i j t d v `Fig is a transverse vertical SeCtionalyieW `flrhe bait basket 12 hanging relativelyrwithshowing a modi-ied'form of the invention. l inthe gates and being.yisiblejthere-through i w35 Inthedrawin'gs the numeral 10 designates attracts the animal which enters byswinging J8@ -ia reetangul'arplatiform in the oenteroi1 which the #fingers 14 upward. "The animal thus y isprovided` an openingllthrough'tvhich'bait f Caught" in the Hlower"oh'arnber` ofthe `trap may be introduced intofaflgasldletl 12.` (Figs. :2 1 seeks to escape.` The fingers in the `gateway `and 3) dependingsfrom the-platform .The between the legi; `havingr the iiange A13 and 59110 "platform is Supported at each @Ornefwupon the COI'IeSpOTldIlg'i leg, Which are designated 90. flanged legs 13, each leg comprising alpa'iaof `by the numeral 14', areinclined outwardly in- =Vertical ianges"directed outwardly at right- Stadzof `inwardly"and theanimal may thus angles` tofeaoh: other and-having their outer- @$021136 by passing under these .fingers into` a edges `Substantially flush 'Withthe, overhang- `vertical box 18-s`eo1ired to one side of the trap.

" .fal'ring edge ofthe platform. One ofthe legs, `This bollezttends 'above thelnlatformflO and 95 Betweenthe.legswgatewaysiare*provided avenge 21jisf-removably"mounted.: The box asis indic'atedlin dotted lines inlFig. 2, has has an inclined ladderf19 therein. one offits anges 13 elongated7 whereby its To the four `sidesofthe platform I hinge- :shortervlange is disposednearer the'\adjasideboards 20, thesesideboards constituting `cent leg thanlin other instances.- an upper `chamber and in this upper chamber OQ I same on all four sides.

18 extends above the cage and has a hood 22 hinged thereto so as to overhang the cage. As is shown in Figs. 3 and 4;, a landing 23 is arranged at the top of the ladder and fingers 14a having heads 15 are mounted on a shaft 24 and inclined to an opening 25 leading into the hood 22. The hood 22 has a screened window 26 opposite the opening.

The animal, upon escaping into the box 18, is induced to climb the ladder 19 because of the light entering the window 2G. Upon reaching the landing 23 and still seeking light, the animal will push up the lingers 14a and enter the hood 22. The bottom of the hood is opened and the animal will fall through a framed opening 27 in the top of the cage 21; A slide 28 is arranged in the frame of the opening 27 and may be closed to retain the trapped animals when the Cage is removed.

The cage is made of wire mesh or other suitable panels except its bottom 21 which is preferably of sheet metal. A pair of handle bails 29 are hinged to the top of the cage. The sideboards 20 conceal the sides of the cage so that the animals trapped therein can not be seen by the animals approaching the trap.

For convenience it is desirable to hinge the various parts and to provide the hinges with removable pintles 80, which connect the leaves 31 of the hinges. The box 18 is secured to the sideboards by these hinges and the sideboards are likewise secured together.

The hood 22 is fastened against the box and over the cage by these hinges. When it is desired to remove the cage, the pintles 30 on each side of the hood are removed and the hood is swung upward, which permits the cage to be lifted from the upper chamber. The sides of the cage are provided with said hinge leaves 31 and pintles 30 so that the cage may be opened to remove the animals. The entire cage is metal and the parts of the trap may be made of wood, metal or any other suitable material.

A trap of this nature permits of considerable variation. In Figs. 2 and 4 I have shown the box 18 provided with a sliding gate 32 formed of wire mesh and covering an opening 33 from which a chute 34 extends. A trap door 35 is hinged above the slide and may be swung down onto a stop 36 to close the upper portion of the box and prevent the animal climbing the ladder 19. By this arrangement the trapped animals may be led through the chute 34 to any suitable trapping enclosure and the cage and upper portion of the trap not used. It is to be understood that the trap may be constructed without the elements 32 tov 36 inclusive.

In Fig. 8 I have shown another form in which the box 18 and the hood 22 are omitted and also in which the gateways Vwill be the In this form a'collar meaeel 37 depends from the platform 10 at one side of the bait basket 12 and is provided with pivoted fingers 38 like the lingers 111, but inclined upwardly. The animal, seeking escape, will climb upwardly past these fingers into a foraminous hood 39 in the cage 21. The hood has an outlet collar 40 at one side and is provided with fingers 41 resting in this collar so as to prevent the animal getting back into the hood once he has passed under said fingers.

In each instance the points of the lingers may be made quite sharp and the animals will thus be induced to move quickly under the same and not to attempt more than one backward movement.

Various changes in the size and shape of the different parts, as well as modifications and alterations, may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is: i

1. In an animal trap, an elevated platform, a bait basket depending from the platform, gates having points at their lower ends hinged under the platform, an outlet from under the platform, a gate closing said outlet, and a trap cage removably supported upon the top of the platform and having an opening and closure connected with the outlet.

2. In an animal trap, van elevated platform, a' bait basket depending from the platform, gates having points at their lower ends hinged under the platform, an outlet from under the platform, a gate closing said outlet, a trap cage removably mounted on top of the platform and connected with the outlet, and side boards mounted upon the platform to surround and conceal the cage from the approaching animal. Y

3. In an animal trap, an elevated platform, entrance gates under the platform, a box contiguous to one side ofthe platform and having an entrance from under the platform, a closure for said box entrance, a ladder in the box, a cage removably supported on top of the platform, and a passage from the ladder to the cage.

il. In an animal trap, an elevated platform, entrance gates under the platform, a box contiguous to the platform and having an entrance from under the platform, a closure for said box entrance, a ladder in the box, a landing in the box at the top of the ladder, a cage removably mounted on the platform, a hood connected with the landing and overhanging the cage, and a gate between the hood and the landing.

5. In an animal trap, an elevated platform, entrance gates under the platform, a box contiguous to the platform, and having an entrance from under the platform, a closure yfor said box entrance, a ladder in the box, a

landing in the box at the top of the ladder, a cage removably mounted on the platform, a hood connected with the landing and overhanging the cage, a gate between the hood and thelanding, and -sideboards mounted on the platformand concealing the sides of the cage. 6. In an animal trap, an elevated platform, an inwardly swinging gate hinged beneath the platform, an outlet from under the platform, an outwardly swinging gate closing said outlet, a removable Vcage having a closure and supported upon the platform, and a passageWay connecting said outlet with an open `ing into said cageat the closure. l

In an animal trap,an elevated platform, supporting Walls therefor, a gate including a l shaft mounted in said Walls and a plurality of Lfngersvhaving cylindrical heads hinged on said shaft, and an adjustable crank shaft insupportingcontact With all the fingers and adapted to vary the inclined position thereof.

In testimony whereof I vafliz my signature.

PENELTON G. MIDGETT. 

